A great read set in well described scenery with a twist I didn’t see coming. This books makes a good holiday read, the type of book you want to read the next chapter, then the next and not put the book down.

A good read. 4 friends on a hiking holiday in Norway. Lots of challenges and twists and turns! Very good.

Four thirty-something women are about to climb a mountain in Norway, unaware that a young woman had disappeared there a year ago. The four have been friends since school and take turns to pick the venue for their annual, girls only, holiday. This year it was Liz’s choice. She is a GP practicing in the village where they all grew up. The others are Hannah, who runs her own beauty products company and hates outdoor activities, Maggie, a recently divorced young mother with confidence issues, and Jodi, a rock star. Apart from Liz, they are all total beginners at climbing mountains, even though it is really just a four-day hike (no ropes, no pitons, a signposted path). But even friends have secrets, and tensions between them are bound to be enhanced in this stressful environment. Throw in a few suspicious guys and the mystery surrounding the girl who disappeared and we have a recipe for disasters, which duly turn up.
The writing is solid, the contrasting characters of the girls are well drawn (as distinct from the guys who are straight out of central casting) and the plot meanders along in a comfortable but predictable way to an ending which is a bit bland. So, a readable and moderately enjoyable tale, but not as tense as it could have been.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

After a steadyish start, I found myself getting more and more absorbed by this book. Four women, friends since school but with busy lives, try to meet up each year for a holiday together. Normally this holiday will be by a beach and involve cocktails but this year they have a different type of break planned: hiking in Norway.

More a story about friendship and how it changes and evolves as lives diverge the book also includes peril on a mountaintop, a missing woman and secrets that need to remain hidden.

Four friends meet for their yearly holiday, this time a Norwegian hike. A year ago in the same location, a local hiker went missing. Each of the friends has their own reasons for coming, but the trail will test the limits of their friendship and survival instincts as the weather changes. I flew through this story in two days, my first Lucy Clarke read. I loved the setting and it kept me hooked till the end. Many thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK for the ARC

This is a great read.
Three friends decide to go Norway for a hiking holiday as their annual get together.
They take it in turns to decide where to go and Helena and Maggie are unsure of Liz’s choice this year.
When they arrive they enjoy a meal and relax before the hike the next day. Their other friend Joni surprises them by joining at the last minute and they head off the next day.
The walk is hard going with heavy back packs and hiking boots that are in uncomfortable but soon these will be the least of their worries.
I won’t spoil what happens but things don’t go to plan…
Thanks to Harper Collins and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

💭 ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
I instantly got invested in this tale. The short chapters got me hooked and I was flying through the story. I really enjoyed the friendship bonds and struggles while this mystery was played out. It intrigued me, but it wasn’t really a thriller. But more a mystery tangled in with friendship drama, which was still interesting and an easy read. I highly recommend going into this blind.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🤓 ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
Lifelong friends
Mountain setting
Strong female leads
Short chapters

ꜱʏɴᴏᴘꜱɪꜱ:
𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘪𝘦, 𝘓𝘪𝘻, 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘢 & 𝘑𝘰𝘯𝘪. 𝘖𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺, 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴, 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘴.

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴: 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴, 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴-𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴, 𝘭𝘰𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦.

𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 – 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘦.

Liz, Maggie and Helena have a friendship going back years having met at school. Every year they take a girls trip, each of them taking turns to choose the destination. Joni, the fourth member of their gang is a famous singer who flits in and out of their lives when her hectic schedule and hard partying allows.
Feeling overwhelmed with life at home, Liz has chosen a trip to Norway to hike across the beautiful mountains and camp in the wild. At the last minute, Joni ditches her tour to join them and the foursome set off on their adventure.
They quickly realise that there's more to the mountain than they thought, with warnings of spooky goings on, the disappearance of a young women, and unpredictable weather.

The intricacies of the women's friendships comes to the fore as we learn about secrets, betrayal, and frustrations between them as years of simmering tension begin to rise.

Wonderfully descriptive with edge of your seat drama that kept me guessing right to the end.

With thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for providing me with this early review copy.

Four childhood friends meet up for their annual ‘girls holiday’, this time a hike in Norway.
Liz the sensible one, GP, mother, wife. She has it all, the perfect life, or does she?
Joni, The Rockstar, envied by her friends adored by her fans, but a victim to the trappings of her lifestyle.
Maggie, broken marriage, doting mother, racked with insecurities.
Helena, at a huge crossroads in her life.
As the four friends set out on their trek, their secrets and suppressed frustrations come to the fore and test the very fabric of their relationships. While the tensions rise between them, the land they tread on has it's own violent secrets which are as deadly as what the weather is about to throw at them
A brilliant tense atmospheric read from an author that never disappoints.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this. A thriller that examines friendship and plunges its characters into the kind of extreme situation nobody would want to end up in.
Friends Liz, Maggie, Helena and Joni have a custom of an annual holiday. Each year they find a new place to visit, and this year Liz has arranged for them to spend four days hiking in Norway.
While the idea sounds amazing, the reality of this hike is far more dangerous. A young woman went missing in the mountains and the locals warn of the dangers caused by the weather. Some have more reason than others to keep the scary stories going, and our group of friends get caught up in the kind of life-or-death situation that nobody would seek to put themselves in.

My thanks to the Author publisher's and NetGalley for providing me with a Kindle version of this book to read and honestly review.
Well written this is a character driven story of four old friends going on holiday together, but instead of the usual sun drenched beach break, they decide to hike a trail in the wilds of Norway. Told for the most part in alternate chapters through the eyes of the friends, we get the learn about their lives past and present. A slow burner but always interesting with some gripping action surprise twists, and at times hold your breath tension.
Recommended.

One of my favourite books ever was written by Lucy Clarke, so to be offered the opportunity to read this new one ahead of publication is absolutely amazing - thank you so much to the team at HarperCollins UK!

The four friends featured in this book go way back to school days and have been a pretty tight group of four ever since. Even though they have very diverse jobs and family situations back home they have kept in close touch and insist on a girls' trip away every year. This year local GP Liz has decided they need something a little more challenging than a week soaking up the sun and has chosen to make a childhood dream come true and come hiking up a mountain in Norway. Not everyone is keen on the idea - in fact Joni hasn't even responded to the suggestion, so it's just the three others who set off on the trip of a lifetime to climb the mountain which featured in their school geography project.

The first part of the book, the preparation for the trip and the travel there, is fairly slow but sets the scene that despite all the ladies being a tight knit group that certainly doesn't mean they don't have secrets from one another - and quite significant ones at that. Once part two kicks in and the mountain starts making its presence felt then the pace ramps up - and, it would seem, the ladies aren't the only ones with secrets. The locals let slip that a woman went missing at the same time the previous year - and some of them are more touchy about it than others. What is it between a small group of them which creates such a bad atmosphere the night before the girls set off on their trek?

I loved reading about the experiences of the different women on the hike - the fact that Liz was the only one who had done any of the prep work and exercise plan beforehand; Maggie's worries about her daughter and whether she's brave enough to complete the journey and Helena's constant whinging about her blisters right from the get-go. The mood changes as the weather closes in and the plot takes a decidedly sinister turn. Will any or all of the women get back safely? And who is that who keeps making shadowy appearances along the way?

I was perched on the edge of my seat at one part of the story (and literally yelled "NOOO!" at my kindle at one of the characters for the action they took) and I can say quite assertively that I won't be signing up for a mountain hike in Norway anytime soon, no matter how beautiful the scenery is before the weather takes a turn for the worse!

A great story of friendship and how far we will push ourselves out of our comfort zone for those we love.

My review will go live on my blog and will have other social media links on publication day

I love Lucy Clarke and so I was very excited to have an ARC from Netgalley.

Four friends. They have been friends for years and always go on holiday together. This year one of them suggests a challenging hike instead of their usual rest by a pool.

Each of the women have their own problems that they are escaping from on this trip. Problems that could have dire consequences on a remote mountain.

The women are not really prepared for the risks that they are about to take, especially as there is an unsolved disappearance already on their route. But they’re together, they’ll be fine, right?

This is a gripping story with plenty of great twists and turns along the way. Complete with a lovely story of friendship and that age old question - how far will you go for your friends?

3.5 stars.
Helena, Maggie. Liz and Joni are lifelong friends. Each year, they take it in turns to choose a holiday destination. This year, it's hiking in Norway.
Only Liz seems prepared for hiking Blajfell Mountain, and as you can imagine, everything that could go wrong, does.
Plenty of warnings to turn back, Liz ingores as she is on a mission.
Arguments, secrets, Fallings out and danger makes for an interesting read. Slow to start but the pace picks up once the hiking commences.
The only character I liked was Maggie.
The fog closing in on the mountain, the storm when they are camping in their tents was very atmospheric.
There is no way I would go hiking up a mountain.
I have read a few of Lucy Clarke's books and although I did generally enjoy this one, it's not her best.
Thanks to Harper Collins for the ARC invitation to read in return for an honest review. Also thanks to Netgalley.

Four friends - Maggie, Helena, Liz, and Joni - reunite every year for a trip. This year, it's Liz's turn to choose, and she picks a hike on a Norwegian mountain. As they start the hike, they can't help but feel like they are being watched. Secrets start to come out and things become more dire.

The first little bit of this book was slow for me, but then it really picks up! There were a lot of twists and turns I did not see coming. If you're feeling it's slow, keep with it! Once it reaches the actual hike, not the set-up at the lodge (which is still important for developing characters), it realty picks up!

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love Lucy Clarke books! She writes so beautifully and brings settings to life in such vivid detail that I feel like I’m there. The Hike is a story of female friendship, old secrets and the dark side of the human mind. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and recommend it! Five stars!

The Hike is the latest novel from the Queen of tense thrillers Lucy Clarke. From the foot of the brooding Blafjell mountain 4 friends meet up for their annual holiday, only this time organiser Liz wants more than sun, sea and cocktails. Well they certainly all get more than they paid up for. I mean what could possibly go wrong on a hike up a mountain with lack of training and a storm brewing...........
The prologue drew me into the book and made me want to keep reading. Will they make it out alive and with friendships still intact? Well you'll have to buy this fab novel to find out.

The Hike is my second book by Lucy Clarke and it captures the elements I loved about the first one I read, The Castaways. The Hike is a psychological thriller with a real focus on female friendship and relationships. As the title suggests, it centres around a hike – a hiking holiday, to be precise – of four life-long friends. Things, as you may guess, do not turn out how everyone hoped they would…

As you might have gathered from that high-impact opening sentence, a murder mystery element does come into play in The Hike. What starts as a walking holiday in Norway for four old pals – Maggie, Liz, Helena and Joni – ends as a hiking expedition with twists and turns that none of them are prepared for.

All four women’s lives are quite different now from their school days, from mum and GP Liz through to Joni, lead singer in a band and actual celebrity, their paths have veered in all directions.

Every year the women go on holiday to maintain their friendship, taking it in turns to pick the destination. Norway is Liz’s choice – she’s going through some things in her marriage and wants a more engaging holiday than just sitting by a pool. And yes, she certainly gets that.

They are doing a mountain hike which involves camping in the rural wilds – something none of the women have any experience in. This is enough to put them in a slightly perilous situation, but thrown in a potential killer on the trail too, and you have a very juicy story indeed.

I really enjoyed how The Hike blended a murder mystery that kept you guessing right until the end – the implication that there are, perhaps, even some supernatural elements at play added further to the tense atmosphere – with the natural development of each of the characters. We are given snippets of their back stories as the book goes on to gain insight, so you do care about them.

Here she is, The Queen of Destination Thrillers. Lucy Clarke has done it again! 🙌🏼

Seriously, I could not turn the pages quick enough and finished this in under 24 hours!

We have -
• Female Friendships
• Buried Secrets
• Multiple Twists and Turns
• An Idyllic, Atmospheric Setting
• Multiple POVs
• Short Chapters

100% one for the TBR 🫶🏼

I love Lucy Clarke's books and this one was amazing! I love a great isolated, creepy setting and this book had all of that. It centres around four friends who go on trips together and this year it has been planned by Liz and it is a hike up a mountain. I enjoyed how the chapters were from the different POV of all the main characters. This book had such a creepy vibe, I mean who wants to be stuck out on a hike near a mountain peak when a storm hits. The supporting characters are great, and I loved the twists and turns that followed. This book is such a fun, easy to binge, addictive thriller and I highly recommend it.